Sonic Robo Blast 2
Sonic Robo Blast 2, abbreviated as SRB2, is a computer fangame based on the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It is a 3D platformer developed by a group called Sonic Team Junior, using a modified version of the Doom Legacy source port of Doom. It is closely inspired by the original 2D Sonic games for the Sega Genesis and attempts to recreate this style in 3D. Entirely original to SRB2 is its multiplayer mode, a variation on classic first-person shooter games with Sonic elements. Due to being built with a modified Doom Legacy engine, Sonic Robo Blast 2 is very easily customizable. Custom objects, characters and entire levels can be created with the help of external editors, and the game's source code is openly available for modification as well. SRB2 has been in the works since 1998 and is still incomplete, although the latest version already features a large portion of what is planned for the game. Storyline Months after Eggman's defeat in Sonic Robo Blast, Dr. Eggman took an interest in harnessing the Black Rock's energy. After claiming it as his own battleship, Eggman chose Greenflower City as his first target for obliteration. Sonic was enjoying a long overdue vacation when he was suddenly alerted by the presence of Eggman's massive fleet. Sonic gazed at the giant battleship aimed toward Greenflower, and had already bolted towards it in a blink of an eye. Even though Sonic rushed to save Greenflower City as quickly as possible, it was already a pile of ashes by the time he arrived. Now, after a quick reunion with the evil doctor, Sonic and friends journey off onto another quest to save the world from Dr. Eggman. Characters Three characters are available to play as, each with their unique abilities: Sonic is the fastest character and is equipped with the Air Spin Attack, commonly known as the "thok" due to its characteristic sound, which makes him shoot forward in the air at a rapid speed. Sonic can also transform into Super Sonic in the Single Player campaign by collecting the seven Chaos Emeralds. Knuckles is slightly slower than Sonic and has a lower jump height, but is able to climb on walls and glide through the air. Tails, the slowest of the three characters, has a useful flying ability, allowing him to skip difficult sections and reach almost any place in a level. All three characters have the Spin Dash ability that is characteristic for Sonic games. Gameplay Single Player SRB2's main feature is its Single Player campaign. In its final state, it will span at least 7 zones, each consisting of three acts. The zones are organized similarly to Sonic Advance 2 and 3'', with the first two acts being typical platforming levels and the third act being a boss fight. Like in the classic ''Sonic games, each zone has its own theme, featuring distinct graphics, enemies and obstacles. Contrary to official 3D Sonic titles like Sonic Adventure, the levels feature multiple paths and are designed openly, with hidden items encouraging exploration. Due to engine limitations, SRB2 does not feature the slopes and loops that are a trademark of Sonic games, leading to a different visual and gameplay style more akin to traditional platformers. The first zone of the game is Greenflower Zone, a very short and easy zone set in lush meadows, which is meant to ease players into the game. In Techno Hill Zone, which is set in a valley poisoned by one of Eggman's factories, the player is introduced to more complex obstacles and damaging liquids. Deep Sea Zone, the third zone, takes place in ancient ruins that are partially submerged in water. The fourth zone, Castle Eggman Zone is set in a castle built by Eggman and its surrounding forest.Arid Canyon ZoneArid Canyon Zone, set in a wide, largely dried-out canyon, currently features only the first act, as does Red Volcano Zone, which takes place in an active volcano containing damaging lava. These will be finished by Version 2.2. The game's proposed seventh and eighth zone, Dark City Zone and Grand Eggship Zone, are not included in the current version and may or may not be made in the future. The final zone, Egg Rock Zone, takes place in a space station, containing numerous elaborate traps as well as segments with upside-down gravity. The Single Player campaign can also be played in Time Attack mode. In this mode, the player must try to complete the levels as fast as possible and can record and play back their best attempts. Multiplayer SRB2 features several multiplayer modes that can be played either via splitscreen or over a network connection. The multiplayer modes include Coop (which is basically the Single Player campaign with multiple players allowed), Race and Classic Race, Match and Team Match, Capture the Flag, Tag and Hide & Seek. Race is a simple race to the finish, played either on the Single Player levels or on a set of ten Circuit levels, which are short circular tracks on which the player has to complete four laps. Classic Race is similar to Sonic 2's two player mode. It is played on the same maps as Race, but instead of competing just for time, the players compete in several categories at once, such as time, collected Rings and scored game points. The player who wins most categories wins the round. Match is similar to a typical first-person shooter deathmatch game, but the players shoot Rings instead of projectiles. It is played with a first-person camera on a set of nine maps designed specifically for the gametype. Due to the game's fast-paced nature, the thrown Rings are only slightly faster than the players. Therefore, players must anticipate their opponents' movements and aim ahead of them in order to score a successful hit. On top of the regular Rings, there are also six special weapon Rings, each with a different effect, that can be found and picked up by exploring the map. Team Match is simply a Match game with two opposing teams. The team that scores the most points win. Capture the Flag works just like traditional CTF games in first-person shooters. The players are divided into two teams, and each team defends a base that contains a flag. To score a point, a team must try to steal the opposing team's flag and bring it to their base, all the while preventing their own flag from being stolen. Otherwise, CTF is set up like a regular Match game, but is played on its own set of six maps. Tag and Hide & Seek are two closely related gametypes, both of which are usually played on the game's Match maps. In Tag, one player is "it" and must chase the other players by throwing Rings at them. Once they hit another player, that player is tagged and becomes "it" as well. In Hide & Seek, the player who is "it" is immobile for a short period of time, allowing the other players to hide. Once the hiding time is over, their controls are disabled and the player who is "it" must find and shoot them. Unlockable Content SRB2 features a lot of additional content, most notably several bonus stages, some of which emulate the style of other popular videogame franchises. After beating the Single Player campaign for the first time, the player receives a list of unlockable rewards and the requirements to unlock them. Bonus content can be unlocked primarily by two things: hunting for emblems or acquiring the seven Chaos Emeralds. The Chaos Emeralds can be acquired by collecting Special Stage Tokens that are hidden in all levels except for the boss stages. When the player exits a level after collecting one of these, they are sent to a Special Stage where they have to collect a certain number of Rings in a certain time to obtain an emerald. The game also hides 160 emblems, which are collectible winged logos that allow the player to unlock bonus content. Three of these are hidden in every non-boss level, one for each character in the game. Additionally, there are four extra emblems that can be unlocked by performing various other tasks. Customization Because SRB2 is built on top of the Doom engine, it is easily customizable, and the multitude of user-created add-ons is one of the sources for the game's popularity. It uses Doom's WAD file format, which allows the user to store custom resources such as graphics, sound effects, music and levels in the form of lumps. To create and edit these WAD files, the user needs a WAD editor such as SLADE or XWE. Custom levels can be created with the use of special map editors. The most commonly used of these is SRB2 Doom Builder, a modification of Doom Builder made specifically for SRB2. A rudimentary scripting language called SOC allows the user to change many of the game's settings, modify existing game objects and create custom content such as new objects, cutscenes, unlockables and playable characters. SOC is used in the form of text files that can be written manually or with the use of the SRB2 SOC Editor and are then embedded into WAD files. Because SRB2 is an open-source game, users can also modify and compile the game's source code to create much more extensive modifications. SRB2 is also modifiable via Lua, a scripting language that allows for considerably more customizability than what SOC currently offers. External Links * SRB2's homepage * Download link for version 2.1.14 * SRB2 Message Board *